Who led Christianity to become a new religion?

Answer 1

The obvious answer here is Jesus, since the entire religion is based around him. However, the growth of the religion after his crucifixion is largely due to his disciples. They spread the word to as many people as they could. A lot of their success was due to the fact that Christianity was different than any other religion before, offering forgiveness, a loving savior, and no requirement of perfection. Also, all of the 12 disciples except for one were killed for their faith. Martyrs are an incredible help to a cause. People began to wonder what the religion was all about if so many were willing to die for it. Through history, some rulers have encouraged Christianity (such as Constantine) while others have been out to kill Christians (Emperor Nero, for example) but the martyrs of Christianity have always played the most important role in the religion's growth.